What is the Roast Level for Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans? Light Roast Flavor Characteristics of Yirgacheffe Coffee

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Ethiopia has eight major coffee-producing regions: Ekempti, Limu, Illubabor, Djimma, Harrar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe.

Yirgacheffe is located in the Gedeo region of southern Ethiopia. This area governs two well-known regions: Yirgacheffe and Kochere. Because the coffee produced in Yirgacheffe has a special flavor with a unique style that is widely loved, it has been classified as its own category and has always occupied a place in the global specialty coffee market. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town located in the Sidamo province, with three neighboring small production areas: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya. Because the coffee flavor produced in these areas is almost identical to Yirgacheffe, Kochere has also been classified under the Yirgacheffe region. In November 2009, Ethiopia implemented a new trading and grading system, establishing the Commodity Exchange (ECX), where coffee and other agricultural products are officially traded. Besides Yirgacheffe, three additional sub-regions were added: Wenago, Kochere, and Genlena Abaya, indicating that the flavors of these three regions are extremely delicate and can be further subdivided.

Yirgacheffe is one of the coffee-producing regions within Ethiopia, with a geographical environment of high-altitude wetlands (around 1900 meters). Originally part of the Sidamo region, it was specifically separated to become its own Yirgacheffe region due to its classic floral notes, citrus tones, and bright acidity that have made it popular in the coffee world. As Yirgacheffe coffee becomes increasingly popular, even coffee beans from the same region will have different flavors due to different post-processing methods at washing stations or cooperatives. Therefore, Yirgacheffe is further classified by cooperatives, which has become information that coffee enthusiasts need to know. Among these, the Mist Valley community in Yirgacheffe is particularly famous for cooperatives like Idido and Beloya, as well as washing stations like Chelektu and Konga.

Coffee Grading

Ethiopia most commonly processes G1 or G2 grade coffee using the washed method, while grades G3 and above are processed using the natural method. However, in recent years, it has been heard that G1 and G2 grade coffees are also being processed using the natural method, allowing for more variations and possibilities in coffee flavor. (Note: Ethiopia's green coffee bean grading system is based on the number of defective beans, where G1 represents the minimum number of defective beans, and G5 represents the maximum and lowest grade level.)

Additionally, because Ethiopia is considered by most to be the origin of coffee, there are over four thousand unnamed coffee varieties within the country. Therefore, when purchasing Ethiopian coffee beans, the variety column is mostly noted as Heirloom. The coffee beans vary in size, with a single batch containing over ten different coffee varieties. Unlike Central and South American coffees, which can be classified into specific varieties, in recent years there has been significant progress as world-renowned green coffee merchant Ninety Plus (or 90+) has begun planning and cultivating single-variety Yirgacheffe, calling it VARON (Variety + One). The flavor is quite clean, but the expected floral and citrus notes are no longer as intense, instead becoming a coffee fruit dried tea with more body and spiced flavors. Such coffee has its uniqueness and significance, but whether its price and flavor can be accepted may be another matter.

Roasting Degree

What roasting degree should be chosen for Ethiopian Yirgacheffe?

If it's washed: For those who like floral notes and fruit acidity, choose light to medium roast.

- For those who emphasize sweetness and can accept less aroma and fruit acidity, choose medium+ roast.

What about natural process? Natural processed beans have all the above advantages. Compared to washed beans, they have more fruit aroma and are less acidic.

In coffee bean roasting, the final drop temperature (the temperature when coffee beans are discharged from the roaster) is crucial to the flavor of the coffee. The balance of sour, sweet, and bitter, whether the coffee's flavor profile is fresh and lively or deep and solid, and whether it has layers of complexity are all affected by the drop temperature. The drop temperature mainly affects the degree of caramelization and pyrolysis reactions of sugars (mainly sucrose) in the coffee. During the caramelization process, sugars decompose into aldehydes and ketones or dehydrate to form small molecule sugars, which then polymerize to form dark brown products. The color of caramelization products starts from brown and gradually darkens as the reaction progresses.

Many of these products bring bitterness to coffee, but proper caramelization gives coffee higher complexity and layers, a heavier mouthfeel, and brings caramel, chocolate, and roasted flavors to the coffee. Pyrolysis reactions cause substances that bring plant flavors to coffee to decompose.

Caramelization and pyrolysis reactions require heat absorption to complete, so these two reactions need continuous heat supply to proceed. Therefore, in coffee roasting, the degree of these two reactions is proportional to the drop temperature. The higher the drop temperature, the deeper the degree of reaction.

In the final stage of roasting, choosing a lower drop temperature will preserve floral and fruity aromas in the coffee, and the sweetness will also be high because more sugars are retained without being pyrolyzed. As the drop temperature increases, floral and fruity aromas will first develop toward maturity and then decrease, while nutty, caramel, and chocolate flavors will become stronger, and complexity, mouthfeel, and layers will all increase.

Excessively high drop temperatures bring excessive caramelization and pyrolysis, causing too many flavor substances to be pyrolyzed and volatilized, bringing much bitterness to the coffee, with heavy woody, smoky, and roasted flavors,反而 making the coffee taste uninteresting.

Excessively low drop temperatures will cause substances with herbaceous plant flavors to be insufficiently decomposed, leading to grassy, pea, and cucumber flavors in the coffee.

By adjusting the drop temperature, one can regulate the coffee flavor and the balance of sour, sweet, and bitter, but ultimately, it's a matter of trade-offs.

Take FrontStreet Coffee's natural Yirgacheffe "Berry Orchard" as an example. We chose a medium-light roast, which both highlights the flavor of this bean and retains a certain mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee's brewing parameters recommendation:

V60/1:15/89℃/Time: two minutes.

Flavor: Strawberry, strawberry jam, cream, sucrose sweetness.

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